I root for original films, especially ones with a unique premise. “Tuner” had the potential to kick off the summer movie season on a high note. The set-up is interesting: Leo Woodall (excellent in last year’s “Nuremberg”) plays Niki, a piano tuner with a hearing condition that forces him to wear earplugs all the time. But he’s a master at his job and can name any note (as proven in a scene with music student and love interest Ruthie, played by Havana Rose Liu from 2022’s “No Exit”).
Niki works with longtime piano tuner Harry (two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman), who has his own bobblehead (which we see close-ups of way too often). A medical emergency sends Harry to the hospital, and as the bills quickly pile up, Niki discovers a risky way he can make a lot of money.
The backbone of “Tuner” is reliant on coincidences, as shown in the trailer and flushed-out in the first half of the film. But through it all, I still found the experience engaging and worth sticking with, especially for the compelling Niki and a sense of curiosity in wondering if and how he’s going to pull this off. There are integral moments involving sound and some well-edited scenes.
And then we get to the start of the second half. Niki finds himself in a legitimately dangerous situation. From then on, plot holes emerge and the characters make one silly, ridiculous decision after another. It’s crazy how messy and flat-out ludicrous “Tuner” becomes. Time and logic are thrown out the window and there are some truly puzzling story developments. I kept thinking, “Why is this happening?” and “I can’t believe this is happening”, especially when Jean Reno’s renowned maestro shows-up in the final act.
Some aspects are tied-up too neatly with a bow. Others are left open-ended in some odd ways. This is the narrative directorial debut of Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher (of “Navalny” and recently released “The A.I. Doc”). Roher also co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Ramsey, which needed some tweaks in the first half and a major tune up in the second.
LCJ GRADE: C-
Running Time: 109 min.